Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Good news! I saw a dog today!

Probably the most prominent thing I noticed when I walked around Vina for the first time was all the stray dogs. In fact, you have to be a complete space cadet to miss them. I was taught that if we could read animals minds, cats would say, "I'm a cat, and I hate you." Horses would say, "I'm a horse, and you are not." And dogs would say, "I'm a dog, I'm a dog, I'm a dog...!" I've come to realize that not all dogs have that same slogan. I decided that if I were to read the minds of Chilean dogs, they would be saying, "I wish I was dead. I wish I was dead. I wish I was dead..." It's a good thing all dogs go to heaven, because the dogs here certainly have crummy lives. Pobrecitos.

Once I started taking pictures of the homeless dogs, I had a hard time stopping. There are so many, and the next one always looked more destitute and miserable than the last.

This poor pup--that I affectionately nicknamed Skelator--takes the cake for most heart-wrenching dog on this side of the Amazon.